The Jets were 2-3 at the start of this week, and a win away from being at the top of the AFC East, which is why Tuesday’s firing of head coach Robert Saleh came as a major surprise.
And as more rumors and reports have surfaced, it feels like scapegoating by a franchise that some feel is going backward.
Before Saleh arrived in 2021, the franchise had been an example of futility and poor management. In the 20 previous years, the team had only six winning seasons, the last coming under former head coach Todd Bowles in 2015, when he led the team to a 10-6 record in his first season.
After former GM Mike Maccagnan ruined the team’s chances for future success by releasing a slew of veterans in 2016 and making a few bad draft decisions, Bowles had no chance of survival and was fired after the 2018 season.
Adam Gase was hired next but was fired after two losing seasons (7-9, 2-14) and poor overall coaching and leadership.
So Saleh, who molded the 49ers into a defensive powerhouse, walked into a 2-14 locker room suffering from poor morale and slim hopes.
In his first season, Saleh went 4-12, another disappointing season highlighted by the poor play of rookie QB Zach Wilson.
But the Jets’ 2022 Draft gave long-suffering fans real hope when the team drafted Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, young players who all made an immediate impact. That year, despite the lackluster production and growth of Wilson, the Jets finished 7-10.
Then came the big/bad move (depending on your viewpoint) in 2023, when the team acquired future Hall of Fame QB, Aaron Rodgers. He was supposed to be the team’s savior, giving Jets fans new hope for success.
But those hopes died a few minutes into the first game of the 2023 season when Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon, after which the team turned back to Wilson, who threw for 2,271 yards, 8 TDs and 7 INTs in 12 games.
Yet Saleh still led the Jets to a 7-10 finish.
This year a healthy Rodgers and a stout defense renewed the hopes of Jets fans, but once again, those hopes dissipated after a 2-3 start.
A day after the team returned home from a loss in London to the Vikings, team owner Woody Johnson fired Saleh.
The news of Saleh’s firing circulated quickly, as did reports that he was blindsided, escorted out of the building by security and that it was a result of his reported demotion of offensive coordinator and Aaron Rodgers’ good friend, Paul Hackett
Some brought up possible bias, as Saleh was on the outsides in London with a Jets hoodie with a Lebanese flag on the sleeve, worn as part of the NFL’s Heritage program which allows players and coaches to display cultural pride on their gear. Players are participating in it again in weeks 7 and 8 through helmet decals.
Saleh is Muslim, so some are theorizing that Johnson, who is Jewish, took offense to the Lebanese flag due to the ongoing battles in the Middle East involving Israel and other countries.
While these are all reports and/or chatter, the circumstances surrounding Saleh’s firing lead to two conclusions.
Robert Saleh was scapegoated and management has deferred to the will of Aaron Rodgers.
Why wasn’t GM Joe Douglas fired? His draft selections outside of 2022 haven’t produced much, and he wasted a number one selection on Wilson, who was shipped off to Denver after last season.
The team was 2-3 with a chance to take control of the AFC East if it beat Buffalo this week. The defense, the side of the ball that Saleh is known for, was looking good and the season isn’t even halfway done yet.
Regardless, the Jets decided to make the move and give Rodgers, who was rumored to not get along with Saleh, the control he’d been seeking.
Now the Jets are faced with a re-start under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich and fans are bracing for another season of uncertainty.
To his credit, Saleh took the high road in his final statement to the team, players and fans.
“To all of the players, I truly love and appreciate every single one of you,” said Saleh per Adam Schefter. “The character of the men in the locker room made coaching you guys the ultimate privilege. Through all the ups and downs, each and every one of you showed up everyday and attacked every moment.”
Robert Saleh was not responsible for drafting Wilson or going all in on Rodgers. He had cleaned up the mess left by Gase and, with some better player selections, could have gotten the team to its first winning season in nine years.
Instead, he was sent packing and Jets fans are headed back to the future once again.
Same old Jets.
